Methodical Principles
PROCEDURE
Methodical Principles
PROCEDURE
“I am to conduct a Bible study. Is there any general pattern to follow?”
General Procedure for Bible Teaching
Bible lessons may be conducted in several ways, but there are certain elements every lesson should include, and there are certain practices that help to create more favorable conditions for learning. In every lesson you should have an introduction, should analyze the passage content through observation and interpretation, should apply the Biblical truths to everyday living, and should close with a positive challenge. Every part of the lesson should contribute to the whole so the class or group can see purpose in everything said and done. We shall now consider each of these phases separately in order to hopefully understand their importance in the lesson. They serve as a lesson’s logical order, whether presented by lecture or conducted through class discussion.
APPROACH – to the Bible Study
Some introductory statements must be made in order to prepare your class for the Bible passage to be studied. The purpose of your approach is to create interest, reveal the lesson’s aim, and to set the lesson’s background. Your objectives and type of presentation will determine what you include in your approach. Some of the following phases might be included. If you spend too much time on your introduction, you will never touch on all of them.
1. Begin with an illustration, story, poem, Bible verse or hymn.
2. Read a part or the whole of the Bible passage.
3. Review what has already been taught: this is helpful if you are teaching a series of Bible studies.
4. Give the Biblical background to the passage: show how it fits into the context and purpose of the chapter or whole book.
5. Give the historical background if need be: relate whatever historical facts provide insight into the passage.
6. Give a brief survey of the whole passage before studying the parts.
7. Introduce the writer of the book. Describe his character and outstanding events in his life.
OBSERVATION – of facts in Bible passages
In the teaching procedure, the next logical step is to have your class observe facts in the passage. Before gaining insight into the message, your students must be helped to see what the passage actually says. But the process of observation must be purposeful. A lesson can be boring if the teacher asks aimless questions such as: “What do we see first; and then next? And then what?” The following objectives can serve as a guide:
1. Seek to lay the foundation for the rest of the lesson: Your purpose for observing facts should be to lay a foundation for the rest of the lesson. This is often the time to work out a simple chart or diagram on the blackboard and have your class help develop it with some key facts in the Scriptural portion. Thus they can obtain a graphic picture of the structure and content of the passage and you can use it as a basis of discussion for interpretation and application. Don’t be too rigid about your board diagram. Even though you may have one worked out, let it be flexible and use what the class suggests.
2. Seek to encourage interest and participation through observations: Having the class observe facts is one of the best ways to create interest in your lesson and stimulate participation. As you begin to teach, you will usually find that your class is “cold” and unresponsive. Also they may be timid and somewhat fearful of both the Bible and teacher. In no other study is there such fear of revealing ignorance as in Bible study. People do not seem to mind admitting their lack of knowledge about history, science or politics, but they are very sensitive about the Bible. As a teacher you must guard against embarrassing them, while at the same time encouraging them to share ideas. If questions are stated so that answers can be easily found, individuals will find satisfaction in sharing. Again, we want to underscore that this procedure will have little value unless the students see purpose for observing the facts.
Example:
Approach – Today, we are to study James 3:13‑18 which centers on the kinds of wisdom. Read the passage and see if you can find two kinds of wisdom, the source of each, their characteristics and results.
From this example you can see how the approach sets forth the major teaching of the passage and the purpose for observing the facts. A skeleton of the outline could be placed on the board and filled in as the class makes its observations.
Ways to Help Your Class Observe
When beginning to study a book, have your class do these things:
1. Scan through the chapters of the book to note the major emphasis. If the book is short, divide the chapters among the members so that each will consider only one chapter.
2. Share the impressions they received and their observations of the chapter they considered.
3. Observe the following things in the study of all Bible passages:
If the passage is narrative, such as a story in a gospel, have your class observe these things:
1. Note the who’s in the passage. Pick out the key people.
2. Note the time element and setting.
3. Have your class list major events.
4. Look for the central idea of the narrative around which the action revolves. Is it a person; an event; an idea or truth?
5. Describe the personalities of the people in the narrative. Which personality characteristics brought happiness and which brought unhappiness and dissatisfaction to the characters?
6. Study the attitudes of the people in the narrative – Toward each other; toward events or truths; toward God or Jesus. Are there contrasts or similarities?
7. Note the relationship between attitudes and actions. What do the characters gain or lose by their attitudes and actions?
If the passage is discourse material, such as sermons, Epistles, prophecies, etc., have your group observe these things:
1. Study a paragraph at a time, rather than individual verses so that your class can see the entire message the author is giving. Find the central thought in the paragraph. In a short phrase, have your class summarize the predominant idea.
2. Have your class try to re‑create in their own minds the situation which caused the author to write as he did. What were the conditions he faced? How did he feel? What was he seeing? What was he experiencing? This is a very helpful procedure in the study of the Psalms.
3. Pick out the verbs. If possible write them on a blackboard. What major ideas do the verbs present? Add the simple subjects and the words which complete the action of the verbs. Write just words or short phrases. Do not write long sentences.
4. Make note of repetitions, contrasts, comparisons. How do these help to bring out the message?
5. Make note of logical relationships. What commands, advice or warnings are given? How are these backed up with reasons, proofs or results?
6. Make note of important connectives, such as, but, for, therefore, etc. How do they bring out the message?
7. Note progressions of ideas, use of questions, general statements.
INTERPRETATION – of facts
After the class has observed the key facts of a Scriptural portion, the next step is to help them interpret the facts. While a class can make observations about the content of a passage, you cannot expect them to be adept at interpreting unless they have studied it previous to the class period.
It is for this reason that it is important to encourage them to do advanced study for the Bible lesson. Encourage them to look up meanings of words and consult other sources. Have a dictionary, several Bible translations, and some commentaries with you. Have members look up things during the study.
Ways to Help Your Class Interpret
1. Have your class list the passages they cannot understand. Discuss these first.
2. Discuss some of the key interpretive questions which you personally asked in your private study. In fact your interpretive questions should form the basis for your discussion and lesson planning. You should never attempt to use them all, but out of your many, choose the most significant.
3. Discuss the meaning of words. The teacher may have to supply many definitions, but the class can look up some of them.
4. Analyze the significance of comparisons, contrasts, illustrations, repetitions which are used. Have them list the characteristics of words and ideas which are compared. For instance, discuss the characteristics of the word “fire” when compared with the tongue in James 4:6.
5. Study the progression of ideas and significance of the order. Study the importance of the logical relationships given.
6. Characterize the author by statements he makes. What seem to be his outstanding personality traits?
7. Study structural relationships in the passage and discuss the significance of the way the passage is constructed. Why did the author write his ideas in the order he did?
8. Note in the passage what doctrines are taught about God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, salvation, faith, sin, repentance, forgiveness, assurance, etc.
REMEMBER
1. To encourage your students to share their ideas, but do not let them drift into unimportant topics.
2. To accept all contributions from your students with tact and grace. Some of the answers you receive may be incorrect, but try to pick out something good in each answer. You might ask another question to help the person find the correct answer.
3. To be careful how you handle the varying opinions of the class. If a member disagrees with your interpretation, you should tactfully accept his opinion and thoughtfully lead the class to other possibilities. For instance, you might say, “Yours is an interesting viewpoint. Does someone else have a different idea?” To condemn an answer may discourage a person from trying to share ideas.
4. To avoid letting one person dominate the discussion. One of the most trying problems of the teacher is the person who is always disagreeing and disturbing the class. If such a one in your class becomes too opinionated, call on other members or resort to lecture. Talk with the person after class. Be friendly; perhaps you will develop a cooperative student, as well as a friend. The “dominator” usually reveals an inferior feeling, unhappiness, and a need for attention.
APPLICATION – of Biblical truths
Although application is listed third in the process, it does not need to come last. Many teachers like to bring in applications, as they fit in with discussions, throughout the lesson. To apply the Biblical truths to their own lives, your class will need guidance and encouragement. Unless the message takes hold of the hearts of your students, you, as a teacher, have not accomplished the primary purpose of Bible study – building and deepening spiritual lives.
Ways to Help Your Group Apply
1. Encourage your students to bring out Spiritual lessons. The applications they personally make will usually have much more weight than those made by a teacher.
2. Have them share personal experiences when they have tried to apply Biblical truths to their own lives.
3. When studying a narrative passage, have them discuss the following questions: (a) How would they feel if they were the different characters? (b) Have they experienced the same problems the characters faced? What did they learn from the experience? (c) In trying to solve problems, what will they gain or lose if they follow the course taken by some of the key characters? (d) What attitudes and actions result in the most satisfying life? (d) How does a person’s relationship to God determine attitudes, actions and relationships with others?
4. Have them note what Scripture teaches about their relationship toward Christ, toward their fellowmen, toward themselves, toward the world, and toward evil.
5. Have your class list lessons learned about the consequences of good and bad choices, of obedience and disobedience, of sin and repentance, of acceptance and rejection of Christ.
6. Encourage your class to memorize portions of Scripture. During your class period, memorize some verses and invite members to share other memorized portions. In every lesson, suggest verses to underscore in their Bibles.
REMEMBER
1. To be certain that the analogies and illustrations you use to bring out interpretations and applications fit truths of the passage. If students have to stretch their imagination to understand what you mean, the analogy will not mean much to them.
2. To beware of over‑spiritualizing historical facts. There is a tendency sometimes to use most of the historical narratives, especially in the Old Testament, as allegories to teach spiritual lessons. It is true that many of the narratives are types and have spiritual as well as historical significance, but to spiritualize all historical facts may be doing an injustice to the real purpose of the author and can create a negative attitude among students. Let Scripture itself be your safeguard. Teach as types those which the New Testament identifies as types, but first teach all historical facts as realities. The Holy Spirit can use the real experiences of Biblical characters as well as spiritual truths to influence hearts.
CONCLUSION – to the lesson
Even though you may not have time to discuss all that you had planned for your lesson, you should always summarize what has been discussed before concluding your lesson. Also, it is best if you have prepared a concluding challenge to underscore basic truths in the passage. This may be done with an illustration, a story, hymn, Bible verse or meditative thought.
